A Sikh police officer removed his turban inside a Hindu temple on Friday night here to save two lives from electrocution.

A Sikh police officer removed his turban inside a Hindu temple on Friday night here to save two lives from electrocution.

When a woman and her son had come into contact with a live electricity pole at Devi Talab Temple and bystanders were too scared to help, a quick-reacting assistant sub-inspector Mohan Singh of the crime investigation agency (CIA) didn’t think twice before untying his headgear, a sacred symbol of his faith, and using it to pull them away from certain death.

The survivors disappeared from the temple after thanking the police officer for saving their lives. Calling Mohan Singh a hero of the force, police commissioner Arpit Shukla honoured him with Class-1 certificate and Rs 2,000 cash award; and said he would recommend him for a bravery award.

The ASI was on security duty at the temple during kar-sewa (volunteer labour) work. “Electric current had leaked into the pole during the late-evening rain and storm. Passing by, the woman in her thirties came into contact with it first and then the child, of about 4, was also stuck. As soon as I saw it, I opened my turban and tossed it over them. It took so much force to get them free that all of us were on the floor,” said Mohan Singh.

The eyewitnesses applauded the cop. “It moved me to tears, especially when the woman and her son also thanked me,” he said.